Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology

Dr. Olson is Professor of Virology in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology and a member of the Center for Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases (CVID). Dr. Olson is an internationally recognized leader in mosquito transgenics and innate anti-viral RNA interference (RNAi) pathways used by mosquitoes to modulate arbovirus infections. The Olson lab works primarily with Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and the arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses) they transmit such as dengue 1-4, Zika, and chikungunya viruses.

A major research goal of the Olson laboratory has been to identify molecular strategies for interfering with the replication of arboviruses in mosquitoes. Using an RNAi approach, his team was the first lab to develop genetically modified Ae. aegypti refractory to an arbovirus. His group is currently engineering Ae. aegypti to express anti-viral effector genes targeting Zika virus in the context of a Crispr-cas9 genetic drive system. The gene drive system is designed to generate super-Mendelian inheritance of the anti-viral gene initially in Ae. aegypti populations. Other important goals of the research are to identify components of the RNAi pathways in mosquitoes and fully characterize important arbovirus-mosquito defense interactions. Dr. Olson’s lab has also conducted research associated with alphavirus-induced pathogenesis in mouse models and alphavirus-based gene expression in mosquitoes and mice. Current collaborations outside CSU are with Drs. Alexander Franz (Univ. Missouri/Columbia) and Malcolm Fraser (Univ. Notre Dame).